Moon Child Vol. #03

What They SayThe mystery heats up as Jimmy learns his secret destiny! The mer-people know that Earth's only hope is for the daughter of the original "Little Mermaid" to fall in love with Shonach and bear his eggs. What they don't all believe is that Jimmy, a 12-year-old amnesiac, is that girl. After all, Shonach was the only witness to Jimmy's startling transformation into the girl of his dreams, and he's decided to let the boy make his own choices. But not everyone is willing to take that chance - because if Jimmy picks his human best friend Art, the world is doomed!

The ReviewJimmy and Art are re-united and life moves on as all the characters start to deal with the events of the last volume. Jimmy's prophesy looms over everyone and a picture of the future catastrophe starts to take shape. Jimmy runs into the two boys who look just like him and they get to have a serious discussion about who he is and just why he is so important.

Moon Child hits its proper stride with this volume: the action and exposition occur at a more regular and even pace than previously, so things actually seem to flow. While this doesn't provide any improvements to the story, is does make the volume much easier and more enjoyable to read. Though there is some good progress with the basic conflicts, SHIMIZU is clearly taking her time building up and unraveling her plot points. This may lend itself to a particularly strong ending, but for now you will have to deal with a book that is - I hesitate to say "filler" - full of interactions that, while entertaining enough, have little immediate consequence.

Though we have known from the beginning what direction this story is heading in (an imposing mer-people apocalypse based on a fated decision of love between mermaid and human), what has been uncertain is how well any of this is going to be handled. Previous volumes have been uneven, but this one introduces enough elements to suggest that there really is a bigger picture, and that the next 10 volumes won't just be about the compounding conflicts of an indecisive young amnesiac.

While none of these elements are enough to start suggesting this title to those who haven't been interested, they add a decent amount of momentum for those who are already committed. The most important point is a revelation about Jimmy's prophecy. While I won't give it away here, it is actually a fantastically well executed bit of foreshadowing that ties this very out-there story to reality and does wonders for the overall gravitas.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't some magic moment that will herald a grand improvement in the story, but it is a genuinely good moment, and it, coupled with the vastly better pacing, is what accounts for the slightly better content rating for this volume over the previous one.